


In the palm of my hand

by idontshipiyatch



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Holding Hands, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:55:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25657015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idontshipiyatch/pseuds/idontshipiyatch
Summary: Groaning, he grabs his hand. “Just hold my hand,” he mumbles, tugging on the light grasp after he feels their fingers securely intertwined, “Now, c’mon hurry up, Sou, we’re already late.”
Relationships: Hazuki Nagisa/Ryuugazaki Rei, Matsuoka Rin/Yamazaki Sousuke, Nanase Haruka/Tachibana Makoto
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34





	In the palm of my hand

Groaning, he grabs his hand. “Just hold my hand,” he mumbles, tugging on the light grasp after he feels their fingers securely intertwined, “Now, c’mon hurry up, Sou, we’re already late.”

As he expected their friends are already there when they arrive at the meeting point, but one look at Sousuke and he keeps a firm hold on his hand, both pleased and surprised when the other swimmer doesn’t even try to make him let go.

He sees the curiosity in their friends' eyes, more or less subtly drifting to their joined hands, but one pointed look at the way their own pairs hold onto each other and their friends shrug off the attention by focusing on the merry conversation sparking between the illuminated stands.

Settling for playing some games first, Rin doesn’t know what odd magic courses through his system tonight, but finding Sousuke’s hand before he can accidentally wander off comes to him more easily than he would have thought. He often knows where to find Sousuke’s hands, force of habit from always being on the lookout for a place to grab him before the swimmer can walk into something or get lost the moment Rin is unfortunate enough to stop paying attention to his friend for even a blink.

But on top of being much more practical than fumbling for a sleeve or the strap of a bag, holding his hand also feels nice. Sousuke has big hands, kind of like him, but he likes the way his fingers rest lower on the back of his hand because his friend has longer fingers.

“So…”

Startled out of his thoughts, Rin then shakes his head with an amused sigh seeing Nagisa’s expression. “So what?” he says, playing along and the blonde strands ruffle with the breeze, accompanying a grin that might have been a tad terrifying if he didn’t know the younger teen. “Are you and Sousuke-chan finally together?”

Mind frozen for a solid two seconds as he processes the question, he then stutters with haste, “W-what? What do you mean finally?” He sounds halfway across offended and even he is surprised by the tone, but the eyebrow Nagisa quirks at him before he giggles sees right through his feeble defense so he rolls his eyes but relents to grumbling honesty. “We’re not together, I’m just holding his hand so he doesn’t get lost, there’s a big crowd tonight because of the festival.”

The excuse is valid, he knows it is, but Rei, who had politely pretended not to be listening, glances at him with a dubious look that shapes his lips into a mid-frown. “I’m serious,” he insists and Nagisa nods with an expression whose readings Rin is ready to argue but the younger teen shuffles closer, beaming with mischief. “Then if that’s the case, Rin-chan, you might wanna speed things up,” he says, and his words continue to surprise the red-haired swimmer when he adds, “Because otherwise Haru-chan is gonna beat you to it.”

Gaping at the claim, he can’t help worriedly looking for the other swimmer but finds him behind Makoto to guide his arms in the game they’re playing. Turning back to Nagisa with a confused frown, Rei steps in before the younger teen’s phrasing can further puzzle him. “What Nagisa-kun is trying to say is that we think Haru-senpai will ask Makoto-senpai to be his boyfriend very soon.”

His noise of understanding is loud enough to make Sousuke glance at him from where he’s playing with Momo and Ai so he waves his hand to dismiss the curious look while Nagisa giggles. “Yeah, like tonight soon,” he clarifies and Rin momentarily forgets his own involvement in the conversation to smirk. “Seriously?” he asks, discreetly eyeing the pair and Nagisa nods with a happy squeal but what Rin sees would have been plenty of an answer.

The affection between the two doesn’t surprise him, he would have even made bets with them if he knew they were getting that close but being at different schools kept him out of the loop. The way Haru stays close to Makato, hands on his hips even after his friend gets the hang of the game, reminds him of him and Sousuke. Not that he does things like that with him, but he’s thought about it and, palm still warm from holding his earlier, he wonders what it must feel like to be able to put your hands on the person you like for more than just a friendly clasp on the shoulder or clap on the back.

Focusing back on the other pair staring at him, he scoffs. “You can’t make me ask him out just out of spite to do it before Haru,” he says and neither look even remotely convinced so he crosses his arms and cocks a challenging eyebrow at them. “I won’t,” he insists, and he doesn’t tell them it’s not because he doesn’t want to do it but rather because he doesn’t want to have the same dating anniversary as Haru, but something in his expression must betray that their comments put his thoughts on the right path because, although with knowing smirks, they leave him be and move to take Haru and Makoto’s spot at the stand.

Half-pouting because they read him so well, Rin hastily discards the downcurve of his mouth when Sousuke also finishes his game and walks back to him. “What’d tell you? You look annoyed,” he hums, and the hints of tease framing the remark spark a banter that provides a very good distraction for him to take Sousuke’s hand back in his without him properly noticing until they have to let go to eat a short while later.

x

“Rin.”

Humming without glancing up from his phone, he freezes hearing Sousuke’s next words.

“I get that you hold my hand when we’re outside and it’s crowded but we’re in a bus sitting next to each other. I can’t get lost.”

Had the sentence been voiced with the usual amount of teasing, he could have brushed it off with a joke or a reply of the sort. But Sousuke doesn’t sound amused, he sounds genuinely confused, and when Rin looks up, he is met with the same sentiment in the teal eyes locking into his.

“Do you-” He gulps, unsure of how to navigate this conversation until words formed by his instincts push around on the tip of his tongue. “Do you want me to let go?”

The question takes Sousuke aback but he doesn’t hesitate before shaking his head. “No,” he says, shrugging as he leans back in his seat, “I just told you in case you forgot is all.”

Blinking in surprise because the reply sounds an awful lot like an excuse he could pull, Rin glances at his friend but the teal orbs are safely hidden under closed eyelids so he pouts, torn between relief and the urge to go further down the road the recent habit opened that night at the festival when taking his hand made his heart thump and thoughts race for the first time.

x

They arrive hand in hand, by now too familiar with the habit to even pay attention to it anymore until they notice Haru pressing a kiss on the back of Makoto’s hand he’s holding.

Deciding to focus on teasing them instead of the red he saw coloring Sousuke’s ears when he glanced at him, he hopes his relief that their hands remain joined doesn’t pierce through his amused smirks.

“So did he ask at the festival?” he asks Nagisa, and the younger teen enthusiastically nods before playfully nudging him in the ribs, “Is it your turn now, Rin-chan? You should,” he advises, and Rin is too busy seriously considering the suggestion to bother pretending he took the question as the joke Nagisa's tone masked the serious inquiry with.

x

Finger trailing over the curves of Sousuke’s knuckles, he takes what he hopes is a discreet deep breath.

“Can I ask you something, Sou?”

He doesn’t meet the teal eyes when his friend tells him yes, instead he keeps them on their hands, lazily locked even though they’re sitting.

“Do you think I hold your hand because we’re friends?”

It’s a cowardly move to disguise his real question like that, but while holding hands has grown natural, questioning how much they care about each other is as foreign as it’s frightening. And his attempt to balance the weight between them then turns against him, because the seconds preceding Sousuke’s reply aren’t that long but they certainly make him feel like time has slowed.

“I don’t think so,” he hums, and when Rin looks at him, the teal orbs aren’t set in his direction even when he adds, “Do you?”

He gulps. Another glance at their hand, another one up and he sees on the color of Sousuke’s ears and neck that despite the seemingly neutral facade, this conversation has him just as flustered. “No,” he admits, and Sousuke doesn’t speak again during his pause so he inhales and finally puts words onto what has been gliding over his skin and heart for weeks now. “Can I keep holding your hand, Sou?”

A light press on his hand precedes teal eyes turning around to face him. “Yeah,” he says, “You can.” And Rin smiles, through the happy drops gathering beneath his lashes and through his shaking exhale when Sousuke stays very still after he leans close. “Can I kiss you?”

Sousuke’s cheek is warm and, as he slowly kisses him, Rin decides that cradling his face is even better than when their fingers intertwine because it makes him feel like he has him all to himself, safely tucked in the palm of his hand.

**Author's Note:**

> 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔬𝔲𝔩  
>   
> 📍 [where to find me](https://mooniv.carrd.co/)  
>   
> D.


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